Systems and methods for seamless access to remotely managed documents using synchronization of locally stored documents

ABSTRACT

A system and method for seamless access to remotely manage documents using synchronization of locally stored documents are provided. In some embodiments, a content management server stores documents in a cache on the user&#39;s computer. Documents can thus be accessed and edited using the document in the local file system of the user and synchronized with the content management server asynchronously to access the documents on the local files system. Advantageously, the teachings of embodiments as described can be used in conjunction with content management systems for providing faster access to documents in conjunction with editing and for enabling offline work on such documents.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of, and claims a benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. 120 of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/356,902filed Mar. 18, 2019, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SEAMLESS ACCESSTO REMOTELY MANAGED DOCUMENTS USING SYNCHRONIZATION OF LOCALLY STOREDDOCUMENTS”, which is a continuation of, and claims a benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. 120 of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/862,236filed Jan. 4, 2018, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SEAMLESS ACCESS TOREMOTELY MANAGED DOCUMENTS USING SYNCHRONIZATION OF LOCALLY STOREDDOCUMENTS”, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,275,510, which is a continuationof, and claims a benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 of, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/555,385 filed Nov. 26, 2014, entitled “SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR SEAMLESS ACCESS TO REMOTELY MANAGED DOCUMENTS USINGSYNCHRONIZATION OF LOCALLY STORED DOCUMENTS”, issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,898,520, which claims a benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 toU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/970,278 filed Mar. 25, 2014,entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VIRTUAL FILE DRIVER MONITOR ANDAUTOMATIC DOCUMENT LINKING”, and U.S. Provisional Application No.61/970,270 filed Mar. 25, 2014, entitled “SINGLE CLICK EDIT SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS”, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated hereinfor all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the field of content management.More specifically, the disclosure relates to a system and method toenable users to locally access and interact with files stored on acontent management system in a seamless manner using synchronizationprovided by a file driver monitor on the local system.

BACKGROUND

With the ever increasing prevalence and proliferation of electroniccontent has come a commensurate need for the management of such content.Content management systems do just that, allowing for the management ofsuch content by controlling the access, editing, updating, versioning,etc. of content. This type of content management is in no way trivial.In certain contexts, such as in an enterprise setting, there may bemillions or even billions of documents that need to be managed, andusers may desire to have access to these documents from a variety ofdistributed access points.

To facilitate content management in conjunction with such distributedaccess, content management systems may be organized around one or morecontent management servers that provide services associated with themanagement of such content. Content management servers like these may bedeployed in the cloud or otherwise distributed.

Using such content management systems then, users may access managedcontent to, for example, edit such content. To access such content userstypically use a user interface (UI) to interface with a contentmanagement server of the content management system. They reserve (or“check out”) the content and download it locally on their computer(e.g., referred to as a client). The user can then edit the document,save the changed version to the content management server and unreservethe content.

While these tasks may seem simple on their face, the underlyingcomplexity and operations that must be performed by the contentmanagement server to ensure such functionality is smoothly accomplishedis vast. For example, many users may be trying to simultaneously accessor edit documents from different access points. Thus, in a contentmanagement system, there is often a need to control access to content,retain old versions of content, reconcile different versions of content,etc.

As the user interactions with a content server are typicallyaccomplished over a network and the operations undertaken may be complexin nature, the performance of such content management systems(especially from a user perspective) is somewhat lacking. In no smallpart, these performance issues resulted from the architecture of suchsystems. As all accesses to content must be made through the contentmanagement server substantially every time, and access to the contentmanagement system is itself dependent on network speed, the performanceof such content management systems is heavily dependent on the speed andconnectivity of the network connection and the number of users being theservices provided by the content management system.

What is desired therefore, are seamless systems and methods for themanagement of content that provides the advantages of editing locallystored content to the user while simultaneously providing the advantagesthat are inherent with the use of a content management system.

SUMMARY

To that end, attention is directed to embodiments of providing seamlessaccess to remotely managed content through the synchronization oflocally stored content as disclosed herein. In particular, certainembodiments include a content management system for editing files storedon a remote content management server. A sync agent deployed on a clientcomputing device coupled over a network to the content management servermay be provided. The client computing device includes a file system anda local cache associated with the content management system in the filesystem of the client. The sync agent is configured to send a request tothe content management server for a document stored at the contentmanagement server, receive the document in response to the request,store the document in the local cache associated with the contentmanagement system, and maintain an identifier for the document. In suchembodiments, a cache filter is disposed between an editor application onthe client computing device and the file system. The cache filter isconfigured to intercept file system requests from the editor applicationwhen the document in the local cache is open for editing. These filesystem requests can include a save request associated with a change tothe document in the local cache.

In certain embodiments, a save request to the content management serveris made automatically and asynchronously to the editing of the documentin the local cache through the editor application. In response toreceiving such a request, the cache filter further can inform the syncagent of the save request such that the sync agent makes that saverequest to the content management server to make the equivalent changeto the document on the content management server. The cache filter mayalso pass the save request to the file system so that the change can bemade on the document in the local cache.

In one embodiment, the content management server locks the document atthe content management server when the document is requested by the syncagent. As such, other users accessing that document may be preventedfrom editing that document or from opening that document in an editmode.

As the changed document may be managed as its own document (e.g.,another version of the document) in some embodiments, the contentmanagement server may generate a new identifier for this most recentversion of the document and send the new identifier to the sync agent inresponse to the save request. The new identifier may be maintained inassociation with the document in the local cache of the client computingdevice. Such identifiers may include, for example, a node identifier(e.g., identifying a set of versions of the same document) and a versionnumber for the document.

Various embodiments of content management systems as presented hereinmay convert links within the documents. For example, any localinter-document links contained in the document stored in the local cachemay be converted to global inter-document links or any globalinter-document links in the document received from the contentmanagement server may be converted to local inter-document links in thedocument stored in the local cache.

As such, embodiments of these types of content management systems mayhave many advantages. For example, when using these embodiments, a userexperiences the speed and access as if he is working on the documentlocally and all the document synchronization takes place asynchronouslyso the user can work while he is offline. All the synchronizationservices to keep a document synchronized and managed properly in adistributed or enterprise wide environment may occur unobtrusively tothe user.

Accordingly, a content management system architecture is provided inthat a local client with a cache allows editing of documents without aneed to access the document from a content management server of anenterprise. In one embodiment, a content management system provides aseamless way to a user to be able to access documents for editing on alocal cache instead of having the user edit them on a content managementserver located in a cloud and connected via an Internet connection. Thelocal cache contains the documents on which the user is working on at aclient computer and it speeds up the editing process of the documentsthat are being synched with the content management server. This providesa seamless way to allow a user to access the documents on the localcache of a client computer to speed up the access process. The documentson the local cache of the client computer are synced with a contentmanagement server in the background but are saved on the local cachewithout any impact to the user by intercepting requests by variousapplications such as an editor (e.g., Microsoft Word) using a filesystem driver that interacts between the local cache and a sync agent tosync the documents with the content management server. This provides theadvantages that a user is not required to have a complete Internetconnectivity and editing of documents can be accomplished in a speediermanner. Further, functionalities of an application can be used moreseamlessly, such as the most recently used (MRU) files list of MicrosoftWord.

The content management system may be a cloud-based system in oneembodiment. The content management system provides a backgroundinterception of a Windows file system access by an application such asWord. This is done by getting the newest version and uploading thechanges and reserving and unreserving—all in the background without theuser having to intervene, and the user thinks that he is operating inthe cloud while actually, operations happen in his Windows file system.The user does not have to wait for several minutes until his large file,such as a 150 megabyte file, is uploaded on a very slow Internetconnection. The file is saved instantaneously through the user's harddisk drive, and the upload happens in the background while the user isdoing something else. He is not waiting on it.

Embodiments of such a content management system may thus be effective asan enterprise solution. A user can have confidence that his actions(e.g., file actions such as open or save) will succeed because he isworking on documents that are all saved on a local Windows file system,and the editor is opening up documents or saving documents to theWindows file system, which is robust. Therefore, the user will haveconfidence in his editing of the document and it adds to the experience,since editing and saving is done from a local hard disk drive.

These, and other, aspects of the invention will be better appreciatedand understood when considered in conjunction with the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings. The following description,while indicating various embodiments of the invention and numerousspecific details thereof, is given by way of illustration and not oflimitation. Many substitutions, modifications, additions orrearrangements may be made within the scope of the invention, and theinvention includes all such substitutions, modifications, additions orrearrangements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification areincluded to depict certain aspects of the invention. A clearerimpression of the invention, and of the components and operation ofsystems provided with the invention, will become more readily apparentby referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodimentsillustrated in the drawings, wherein identical reference numeralsdesignate the same components. Note that the features illustrated in thedrawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 a block diagram depicting one embodiment of an environment inwhich an editing system may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a component diagram depicting various components of oneembodiment of an editing system.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting one embodiment of a process for locallyediting a file from a content server.

FIGS. 4-8 are flow diagrams depicting embodiments of process used by anediting system.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of inter-documentlink conversion.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart depicting a process for an embodiment of linkconversion.

FIG. 11 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of a content serverbrowser interface, including a listing of documents with edit links.

FIG. 12 is a screenshot depicting an example of a manage documents viewin a window, including a listing of documents with different folders.

FIG. 13 is a screenshot depicting an example of conflict management whenthere is a conflict between the content management server and localcache version of a document or a file.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram depicting one embodiment of a process forenabling a user to select and edit a file from a content managementserver.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention and the various features and advantageous details thereofare explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodimentsthat are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in thefollowing description. Descriptions of well-known starting materials,processing techniques, components and equipment are omitted so as not tounnecessarily obscure the invention in detail. It should be understood,however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, whileindicating some embodiments of the invention, are given by way ofillustration only and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions,modifications, additions and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/orscope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art from this disclosure.

Generally, a system is provided that enables editing and other accesscapabilities of content accessed from a content management server usinga locally-installed application through the synchronization of locallystored content. To clarify some terminology as it is used herein, itwill be understood here that the terms content, document or file may beused interchangeably herein to refer to a discrete set of data; it willalso be understood that the term content server is used interchangeablywith a content management server. In some examples, editing of a file isdone by editing the file by accessing the file in the local cache of aclient device of the user performing the editing. A file to be edited isdownloaded from a content management server to a cache local to theuser's client device where it can be accessed by applications installedon the client device. The location of the local content management cacheis configurable. Document saves are performed locally and uploaded tothe enterprise content management server asynchronously. No direct userinteraction with the content management server is needed to savedocuments. All saves are performed using the client device application'ssave buttons. Documents get unreserved or unlocked automatically uponclosing of the client device application. No further user action isrequired by a user. In some embodiments, global document links aremaintained, even while the document is stored in a local cache.

Among other advantages and benefits, the system described below improvesthe user experiences involved in editing, or otherwise accessing,documents. Specifically, the user may interact with managed content justas if the user was interacting with content stored locally on thatuser's local storage and file system (e.g., on that user's C: drive)despite the fact that such content is under the control and managementof a content management system. In particular, the system provides an‘instant’ and ‘seamless’ editing experience substantially equivalent toediting files on a local hard disk. The system ensures that the user canalways save documents, and works with most existing applicationsinstalled on a client device. At the same time, the system preserves keycapabilities of the content server system. The system also supports andpreserves inter-document linking (e.g., desktop applicationinter-document linking). Generally, the system uses a seamlesssynchronization technique for uploading and downloading documents,instead of opening and saving documents directly to a cloud-basedapplication. As described in detail below, client applications editdocuments using standard file system paths to a local hard disk orroaming profile. Those file system paths directly access a localdocument cache, so that opening and saving of previously downloadeddocuments can be fast and reliable. The operations performed by editingapplications on cached documents are tracked, so that the system candetermine when a new version of a document has been saved and should beuploaded to the content management server. New or updated versions ofdocuments are uploaded in the background so that the user never has towait for an upload to complete. When a client application accesses adocument in the cache, it is automatically downloaded from the contentmanagement server, if necessary. In one example, an application in theclient device system tray on the task bar provides an unobtrusive userinterface (UI) for communicating with the user as necessary, andreporting on the status of pending operations.

Speed of access is another advantage provided by embodiments asdisclosed herein. In the past, users accessed documents for editing on anetwork from a content management server and thus every time there was asave request, a synchronous save of the document to the contentmanagement server was required. In embodiments as presented herein, anarchitecture is provided where the user's client device maintains alocal cache that such editing of documents can be provided separatelyfrom a content management server for an enterprise containing the samedocuments. Synchronization between documents in the local cache (oredits thereto) can be performed between the user's client device and thecontent management server asynchronously.

In certain embodiments, the documents in the local cache of the clientdevice are synced with corresponding documents on the content managementserver in the background but are saved on the local cache without anyimpact to the user by intercepting requests by various applications suchas an editor (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) being usedto edit the documents using a filter that resides between theapplication layer and the file system. The filter can obtain edits tosuch documents made by the user through the editor application from theintercepted file system requests (e.g., save requests or the like). Thefile system requests can then be passed to the underlying file system toperform the requested operation on the document in the local cache. Thisfilter utilizes a sync agent to queue one or more requests to thecontent management server, where the requests are configured tosynchronize the locally stored document in the cache with thecorresponding document at the content management server by performingequivalent edits (e.g., equivalent to the edits determined from theintercepted requests) on the corresponding document at the contentmanagement server.

By divorcing the editing and the synchronization processes through theuse of the local cache, the filter, and the sync agent, a seamless andspeedy way to allow a user to access documents subject to contentmanagement is obtained. By providing a seamless way for a user to beable to access documents for editing using a local cache instead ofhaving the user edit them on a content management server located in acloud and connected via an Internet connection, a user is not alwaysrequired to have an Internet connectivity and editing of documents canbe accomplished in a speedier manner, and functionality of applicationsmay be used seamlessly, such as the most recently used (MRU) files listof Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Word, Excel, etc.).

A content management server of a content management system provides ametadata handling system to handle a document that has extra metadata onit that a user wishes to enter. The content management server helps withmanaging that metadata. It allows a user to enter that metadata when theuser creates a new document. For example, the user can save the documentfrom the application (e.g., Word) with the correct metadata associatedwith it. The content management server may provide business rules thatapply to documents, and this feature may be integrated in the contentmanagement system. To customers, the content management system providesa folder hierarchy where if they save a document to that particularfolder, they have to enter certain pieces of metadata.

When a user is saving a new document to a particular folder through anapplication (e.g., by selecting “save as”, etc.) the content managementsystem may prompt the user for the metadata and then save that metadataback to the content management server. If a document in the contentmanagement system, e.g., in a document cache, needs to be uploaded to afolder where that folder requires metadata, a user will be prompted atthe time of upload of the document for entering that metadata. If theuser doesn't enter that metadata, the document will not be uploaded. Thelogic or intelligence for workflows or restrictions that are associatedwith the documents can be implemented partially on the contentmanagement server side and partially on the client side.

The content management server may offer a different type of versioningcalled a major/minor versioning where one can have version 1, version1.1, version 1.2, and then one can go from 1.2 to version 2, anddepending on the number of the version, let's say, currently applied ondocuments—users have certain permissions. For example, certain users mayonly have permissions to edit a minor, but they cannot edit a major. Sothe content management system works with the content management serverto make sure it is properly adhered to.

Turning first to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an example of an environmentin which a content management system may be implemented is depicted. Thecontent management system may include content management server 1010including content management module 1064 and associated database 1020;and a local content management module 1060 (e.g., local contentmanagement modules 1060 a, 1060 b, etc.) with a content management cache1050 (e.g., content management caches 1050 a, 1050 b, etc.) and acontent management database 1035 (e.g., content management databases1035 a, 1035 b, etc.) on each client device 1030 (e.g., client device1030 a, client device 1030 b, etc.). Local content management module1060 may access content management module 1064 on the content managementserver 1010 over network 1040, which may be a LAN, WAN, Internet, etc.For clarity, FIG. 1 shows only two client devices 1030 and one contentmanagement server 1010, although it should be understood that a systemmay include multiple clients and multiple content management servers.Specifically, local content management module 1060 may access thecontent management module 1064 using a web-based interface, anapplication programming interface, or another type of interface.Additionally, other modules (not shown) may reside on client devices1030 and may be used by a user to interact with content managementmodule 1064 on content management server 1010.

Content management server 1010 may manage content (e.g., Doc 1, Doc 2,etc.) in database 1020 using content management module 1064. Localcontent management module 1060 on client device 1030 allows a user onthe client device 1010 to seamlessly access content managed by contentserver 1010 and stored in database 1020 (e.g., Doc 1, Doc 2, etc.).Local content management module 1060 may be installed on the clientdevice 1030 at the request of a user or, for example, when the useraccesses content management module 1060 using another interface. Forexample, in certain embodiments, content management module 1064 mayprovide an interface that may be accessed using a web browser. When auser at a client device 1030 accesses this browser based interface, amodule (e.g., including JavaScript or the like) may be executed orotherwise loaded on the client device (e.g., by the browser at theclient device 1030). This module may determine if the local contentmanagement module 1060 is deployed on the client device 1030. If thelocal content management module 1060 is not already installed on theclient device 1030, the local content management module 1060 may bedownloaded from content management server 1010 and installed on clientdevice 1030.

Additionally, at this time local content management module 1060 candetermine if a content management cache 1050 or content managementdatabase 1035 exists on that client device 1030. If not, the localcontent management module 1060 may create the content management cache1050. Content management cache 1050 may be a location (e.g., one or morefolders) on the local file system of client device 1030. It should benoted that in some cases, this file system may reside on a physicalstorage medium local to the client device 1030; however, in certainother instances, a local file system of a client device 1030 is actuallya networked filed system such that the storage of the actual data of thelocal file system does not actually reside on the client device 1030 butis instead accessed over a network. Local content management module 1060may also create a content management database 1035 where management dataassociated with the management of content (e.g., content stored incontent management cache 1050) may be stored.

As will be discussed in more detail, local content management module1060 includes one or more modules that communicate with one or moreinterfaces provided by content management module 1064 on content server1010 to allow the user at the client device 1030 to seamlessly accessthe content (e.g., Doc 1, Doc 2, etc.) in database 1020 managed by thecontent management server 1010. In particular, a user may attempt toaccess managed content in a variety of ways, including through thepreviously discussed web based interface or directly through an editingapplication, etc.

When content is accessed, local content management module 1060 candetermine if the requested content is in the content management cache1050. If not, the accessed content may be requested from contentmanagement module 1064 on content management server 1010. In certainembodiments, even if the accessed content exists in the contentmanagement cache 1050, identifying information for the content may besent to content management module 1064 to determine if the version ofthe content stored in the content management cache 1050 is the mostrecent version. The content management module 1064 may reply with therequested content and identifying information. The content may be storedin the content management cache 1050 and identifying informationassociated with that content stored in the content management database1035. For example, as depicted in FIG. 1, Doc 2 and Doc 5 are stored inthe content management cache 1050 a of client device 1030 a, while Doc 4and Doc 8 are stored in the content management cache 1050 b of clientdevice 1030 b.

In one embodiment, such identifying information may include an e-tag. Ane-tag may be a unique identifier associated with each piece of contentmanaged by the content management system. In particular, in order tomanage content in the content management system (e.g., as stored indatabase 1020, etc.), the content management module 1064 may utilize anode identifier. A node identifier may serve to uniquely identify aparticular content item regardless of its location in the file system(e.g., the file system structure associated with database 1020) orversion. In other words, there may be multiple stored versions of thesame content item (e.g., that may be different as when a document isedited, etc.) and each of those versions would have the same nodeidentifier to associate the different versions. Each of those versionswould be managed as a distinct piece of content and to manage thedifferent versions of the same content item, there may be a differentversion number associated with each version. For example, as illustratedin the example of FIG. 1, Doc 1a may be a first version of a contentitem and Doc 1b may be a second version of the content item. Each ofthese versions is stored separately and managed as separate contentitems. However, Doc 1a and Doc 1b may have the same node identifier toindicate they are different versions of the same content item.Additionally, other metadata may be associated with each content itemsuch as the size of the document, a timestamp indicating a last savetime, etc.

Accordingly, an e-tag may be one or more pieces (or combination thereof)of metadata associated with a content item. An e-tag may contain enoughinformation that the content management module 1060 will be able to, forexample, locate the content item in database 1020 (e.g., in the filesystem stored on database 1020), even in cases where the content itemhas changed location on the file system, or determine if a content item(e.g., in content management cache 1050) is a latest or same version ofthat content item, etc. For example, an e-tag may include a nodeidentifier for the corresponding content item and an indication oflength of the file or may be a combination of the node identifier, thesize of the content item, its version number and a time stamp of when itwas last saved, etc.

The example of FIG. 1 depicts that the e-tags 1032 for Doc2 and Doc 5are stored in the content management database 1050 b of client device1030 a, while e-tags 1032 for Doc 4 and Doc 8 are stored in the contentmanagement database 1035 b of client device 1030 b, while e-tags 1032for all content (e.g., Doc 1-Doc N) are stored in content managementdatabase 1036 of content management server 1010.

It will be understood, however, that while the embodiment of FIG. 1depicts that e-tags 1032 are stored on client devices 1030 and contentmanagement server 1010 such they are associated with the correspondingcontent item, it may be the case that only the metadata that may be usedto create an e-tag may need to be stored and that the e-tags may becreated, or information extracted therefrom, as needed. For example,content management module 1064 may create such e-tags when needed fromthe stored metadata and evaluate a received e-tag to extract themetadata contained therein (e.g., node identifier, size, timestamp,etc.). Thus, in such cases, the actual e-tag itself may not need to bestored on client device 1030 or content management server 1010.

In any event, the user may then access the content through the editingapplication, as the user makes changes to the documents and such changesare saved to that content as stored in content management cache 1050. Inother words, the saves from the editing application are directed to thelocal file system where content management cache 1050 storing thecontent resides. The editing application requests for saving changes tothat document may be intercepted or otherwise processed by local contentmanagement module 1060. Based on these changes, local content managementmodule 1060 may formulate and send one or more requests to contentmanagement module 1064 to perform these changes on the content itemstored at content management server 1010. Content management module 1064may receive such request and preform the requested change on the contentitem in database 1020. The editing application requests processed bylocal content management module 1060 may then be passed to the localfile system (e.g., the file system driver) on the client device 1030such that the changes may be performed on the content item as stored inthe local cache 1050.

The e-tag or metadata associated with the content may also be updated aswell. For example, in one embodiment, the content management module 1064on the content management server 1010 may store the updated content item(e.g., the content item on which the changes have been performed) as anew piece of content and send back an e-tag associated with the newcontent to local content management module 1060 on the client device1030. The e-tag received by the local content management module 1060 maybe used to overwrite the old e-tag associated with that content incontent management database 1035. Likewise, the updated content would beused to replace the old content or saved as a newer version of thecontent separately. As the changes have been performed on the contentstored in the content management cache 1050 and the e-tag associatedwith the content has been updated, the content stored in the localcontent management cache 1050 is now the most current version of thecontent and corresponds to the most current version of that content itemon the content management server 1010 (e.g., using the updated e-tag).

It will be noted that the requests sent to the content management module1064 may be formed and sent asynchronously with both the user's actionson the content using the editing application and the processing of therequests on the local file system of the client 1030. Specifically, byallowing the user to edit the content using the content as stored in thelocal content management cache 1050 and intercepting local editingapplication requests, the synchronization of content in the localcontent management cache 1050 and the content on the content managementserver 1010 may be made. In other words, the user can interact with andaccess the content as if it is stored in his local file system; however,the content is still under the management of the content managementsystem 1010 and the canonical version of the content may be maintainedat the content management server 1010.

FIG. 2 is a component diagram depicting various components andnon-limiting embodiments of a content management system. While FIG. 2has been depicted using a particular operating system, editingapplication, file system, browser, etc., it will be understood thatthese are provided by way of example only and that embodiments asdepicted herein may be equally well utilized with other operatingsystems, applications, browsers, file systems, etc.

Specifically, in certain embodiments, a local content management moduleof a content management system on a client device includes an editclient control 2020, a sync agent 2040 (which may be an application inthe System Tray or menu bar of an operating system or the like) and acache filter 2030. A content management module of the content managementsystem on a content management server 2060 includes a web edit module2090. As mentioned above, a client device may use a web-based interfaceto access a content server. FIG. 2 shows a web browser 2010 (e.g.,Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) installed on a client device. An editclient control 2020 is available as an in-process ActiveX control or aFirefox plugin, for example. Generally, the edit client control 2020 isused for initiating editing operations through a browse based interface.The edit client control 2020 provides an API or other interface thatclients call to control local editing functions. The edit client control2020 allows the interfaces provided from the content management server2060 web pages (e.g., to create an area in the document cache 2052corresponding to the active content server). The edit client control2020 also configures server access and authentication parameters forthat location. The edit client control 2020 can pre-load the documentcache 2052 with documents downloaded from the content server 2060. Theedit client control 2020 also launches editing applications (e.g.,application 2025 in FIG. 2 such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) inresponse to user input, for example, in response to a user clicking on afile link. The control API is primarily a proxy to a named inter-processcommunication pipe (e.g., IPC API) in the sync agent 2040. The systemalso uses this API to perform similar functions.

A cache filter driver (also called a file system driver or cache filter)2030 may be a device driver interfacing between a client editingapplication 2025 and the file system 2045. The file system driver 2030enables file monitoring and synchronization, as well as the tracking ofediting operations performed on a file. The cache filter driver 2030implements a kernel-level file system filter driver that can monitor andcontrol file system operations directed to the local document cache 2052through file system 2045. It performs operations that cannot beperformed using the standard monitoring APIs provided by the operatingsystem (OS). When a client application such as application 2025 opens acache file in document cache 2052, for example, the filter driver 2030can block the application 2025 until the latest version of the documentis downloaded from the content management server 2060, if necessary. Itcan also report detailed information about which applications areopening files and how. The cache filter driver 2030 exposes acommunication port that a sync agent 2040 may use to control and queryit or that conversely filter driver 2030 may use to make requests orotherwise interact with the sync agent 2040.

When the cache filter driver 2030 is running the content managementsystem, it serves multiple users. A user logged in as a user A on thesystem has his own personal cache. Another user B logged into the systemwill have his own personal cache. While the users will have their owncache, the cache filter driver 2030 runs as one instance, and itmonitors, e.g., two absolutely different locations at the same time, andit signals the instance of the sync agent 2040 for the user A whensomething happens in his cache, and it signals the sync agent 2040 forthe user B if some activity is happening in connection with his cache.So the cache filter driver 2030 communicates with different instances ofthe sync agent 2040.

The sync agent 2040 enables synchronization between each user's documentcache 2052 and the content management server 2060, and provides all ofthe interfaces 2041 for communicating status to the user, requestingcredentials when necessary, etc. In one example, the sync agent 2040 isa system tray application. The sync agent 2040 loads in each user'ssession upon log in, and communicates with the filter driver 2030 toestablish monitoring and interception in that user's document cache2052. Note that a single instance of the filter driver 2030 can servemany users' sync agents 2040 simultaneously, although each user may havea different document cache 2052 location. When a client applicationfirst accesses a file in the document cache 2052, the filter driver 2030notifies the sync agent 2040 and requests access. The sync agent 2040will download the document if the version in cache 2052 is not up todate, and then notify the filter driver 2030 that the access canproceed. The filter driver 2030 then passes the request along to theunderlying file system 2045 (e.g., as implemented by the operatingsystem of the client device) and the client application 2025 behavesexactly as it does for local file editing. As applications 2025 continueto access or modify documents in the cache, the file system driver 2030notifies the sync agent 2040 about those operations. From that eventstream, combined with events generated by standard OS-providedmonitoring, the sync agent 2040 components determineupdate/reserve/unreserve or update/lock/unlock operations that may needto be performed on content managed by content management server 2060,and issue requests to content management server 2060 to perform suchoperations in the background.

The sync agent 2040 handles a request, determining when a file will beuploaded, when it needs to be reserved, etc. A request recognizer 2050collects information from a subsystem driver and what comes from theeditor 2025 requests as well. A request scheduler 2070 determines whichrequests have a higher priority or a lower priority. A spooler 2080directly sends requests to the content management server 2060. Thespooler 2080 communicates with the request scheduler 2070 to getrequests from it.

A request recognizer 2050 determines which operations need to beperformed on the content server 2060. The request recognizer 2050receives information about the sequence of file system events thatediting applications 2025 perform on the document cache, as well as thesequence of content management server operations being performed. Fromthese two streams, the request recognizer 2050 generates and maintainsinformation about the state of each file in the cache 2052, and whichcontent management server operations need to be performed. The requestrecognizer 2050 might determine, for example, that a file in the cache2052 is open for writing, and that no attempt has been made to reserveor lock it in content management server 2060. It may determine that areserve or lock request should be made for a document in this state, andensure that such a request is pending in the request scheduler 2070(described below). The request recognizer 2050 might also determine thata file has been modified since it was last uploaded, that it isavailable for reading by other applications, and that it is no longeropen for writing by other applications. In this state, the requestrecognizer 2050 would ensure that an upload request to content server2060 is pending.

A request scheduler 2070 determines the order in which operations areperformed on the content management server 2060. The request recognizer2050 continually adds and removes pending requests from the requestscheduler 2070 as the state of files in the document cache 2052 changes.As the set of pending requests fluctuates, the request scheduler 2070tracks their relative priorities. When the spooler 2080 (describedbelow) is available to make a request to the content management server2060, it consults the request scheduler 2070 to find the highestpriority request to perform. Note that, in this example, the requestscheduler 2070 may not be a queue or may be a managed queue. Any requestcan be removed from the request scheduler 2070 at any time if therequest recognizer 2050 determines that it is no longer necessary toperform it.

Spooler 2080 may be configured to communicate with the contentmanagement server 2060. In some embodiments, to avoid overloading thecontent management server 2060, the spooler 2080 will make only one HTTPrequest to the content server 2060 at a time. Iteratively, the spooler2080 performs the following functions.

(1) Gets the highest priority request from the request scheduler 2070.If there are no pending requests, it waits for one to appear.

(2) Informs the request recognizer 2050 that it is performing therequest. This will cause the request to be removed from the requestscheduler 2070 if it is still pending. The request recognizer 2050 mayindicate at this point that the request is no longer required, in whichcase the following steps are not performed.

(3) Sends the request to the content management server 2060.

(4) Informs the request recognizer 2050 about the completion and status(success or fail, data returned with the request, etc.) of the request.

The web edit module 2090 (content server module) implements the contentserver's integrated editing UI, and any request handlers that the syncagent 2040 or other modules on the client device need to use. Web editmodule 2090 may thus provide a browser based UIs that may providecertain functionality such as authentication of a user and an interfacewhich presents documents that the user may select to edit. The web basedinterface (as will be discussed in more detail later) may present set ofdocuments that the user may select for editing. The documents may bepresented as links that a user may select, where each link is associatedwith a URL for that document. The URL may include an e-tag (or othermetadata) associated with the document such that the document can beidentified using data contained in the URL. The request handlers of theweb edit module 2090 may receive requests from sync agents 2040 deployedon client devices, carry out requested operations on content managementserver 2060 and respond to such requests. For example, one requesthandler is the download hander used by the spooler 2080. This may be aninterface handler with an integrated version check, so that a singlerequest can check to see if the version of a document in local cache2052 is out of date, and provide the appropriate document in a response.

Thus, using the content management system, a user may edit a document.The initiation of such editing may occur through a variety of channels.In one example, a user may select a document to edit using the web basedinterface provided by web edit module 2090. The user can navigatefolders and documents to which he has access permissions and select adocument for editing. The edit client control 2020 may, for example,provide a link for a document that a user may edit (based on the user'spermissions) to initiate the editing process.

The web based interface provided by web edit module 2090 may have acomponent (e.g., edit client control 2020 or portions thereof) that maybe executing on the client device (e.g., JavaScript in the user'sbrowser) and can determine if sync agent 2040 or cache filter 2030 areinstalled and configured on the client device. If they are not installedor configured, edit client control 2020 may install and configured thesync agent 2040 and cache filter 2030. At this point, cache 2052 for useby the local content management module on the client device may becreated if it does not exist. This cache 2052 may be a location on thelocal file system 2045 of the device. This cache 2052 may be one or morefolders (or sub-folders) in the local system 2045.

In some cases, however, a particular client device may connect tomultiple, different content management servers 2060, each managingdifferent content. In such cases, a particular cache 2052 may beassociated with a particular content server 2060 (and there may bemultiple local caches or folders within a local cache).

For example, the cache 2052 may be created with a name that willcorrespond to the name of the content management server 2060. Cache 2052may be configured in a user's local file system 2045, where the cache2052 may include a server “A” folder for use with content managementserver “A”. Such folders may further contain sub-folders that correspondto the file system structure accessible by the user at the contentmanagement server. Thus, in certain embodiments, the file structure forthe cache 2052 (or portion thereof) associated with a particular contentmanagement server 2060 may mirror the file system structure accessibleby the user on that content management server 2060.

Alternatively, a user may select to open a document from editor 2025,for example, by using an MRU shortcut provided by editor 2025 (such asWord or the like). Such shortcuts may provide a list of documentrecently edited by the user (or through the application 2025). In thismanner, a user may be able to access a document in cache 2052 withoutaccess to the network. A user may also choose to edit documents using aUI 2041 provided by sync agent 2040. Such a UI 2041 may allow theviewing and selection of documents in local cache 2052 for editing. Inone embodiment, the UI 2041 lists all of user files in the cache 2052,and there are buttons to operate on them. UI 2041 may provide a gridview that lists all the documents in the cache 2052: their name, theirstatus (e.g., synced, locked, waiting to be uploaded, being uploaded,being reserved status, etc.). The grid view in the window may beconfigured to list different folders then the actual location of thedocuments in local cache 2052 as it may not be desired for a user tohave insight into the actual location of documents in cache 2052

The UI 2041 of the tray app has the manage documents view which showsthe user exactly what stage the user is in and the request recognizer2050 updates those streams basically at runtime, so the user can see howhis files are being uploaded and then go into a state such as a reservestate. When a user saves a document or a file locally, an indicationwill appear in the managed document view for that file, but it will saythat this file has never been uploaded and it's a new file.

Regardless of the method used by the user in attempting to edit adocument, the data associated with the requested document may beprovided to sync agent 2040. For example, if a user utilizes the webbased interface provided by the web edit module 2090, the edit clientcontrol 2020 may notify sync agent 2040 of the request to edit aparticular document and the URL (or e-tag or metadata) associated withthe requested document. If a user selects a document using interface2041 provided by sync agent 2040, the sync agent 2040 directly receivesthe request to edit the document directly from interface 2041, while ifa user utilizes the MRU shortcut of application 2025 to select adocument for editing, the request to open the file may be intercepted bycache filter 2030 which blocks the application 2025 while notifying syncagent 2040 of the request (along with identifying information for therequested file).

The sync agent 2040 receives the request and determines if the documentreferenced by the request is located in cache 2052. For example, theedit client control 2020 may pass the URL (or e-tag or metadata)associated with the requested document to the sync agent 2040. Syncagent 2040 may utilize the e-tag of that document to determine if thatdocument is in the cache 2052. For example, sync agent 2040 may maintainor otherwise access a database containing a mapping between thedocuments in cache 2052 and e-tags (or other metadata) for thosedocuments. Using such a mapping, it can be determined if the requesteddocument is in cache 2052. Alternatively, the documents themselves maybe named or otherwise tagged with the e-tag value for that document,thus sync agent can search the documents in cache to determine if any ofthem have a name (or tag) corresponding to the e-tag of the requesteddocument. If, however, the document was accessed directly from the UI2041 of the sync agent 2040 or through an MRU function of editor 2025,sync agent 2040 may determine the requested document is already in cache2052 and determine the e-tag for the requested document.

When a user accesses the document through the MRU function of the editor2025, editor 2025 attempts to open the document at an associated filepath corresponding to that documents location in cache 2052 by issuing afile system request to file system 2045. Cache filter driver 2030intercepts that request to the file system for the document at that filepath. It then indicates to the sync agent 2040 that there is an openrequest for the document at the file path, or may pass the file nameitself. The sync agent 2040 can determine the e-tag for that documentfrom the file path or file name as discussed.

In any event, if the requested document is in cache 2052, sync agent2040 may send a request to the content server 2060 (e.g., using the webedit module 2090) to determine if the document is the most recentversion. This request may pass just the e-tag of the requested document.The content management server 2060 can compare this e-tag to the e-tagassociated with the most recent version of that content to determine ifthe version of the content in cache 2052 represented by the e-tagreceived in the request is the most recent version. In one embodiment,the node identifier for the document may be extracted or otherwisedetermined from the received e-tag, this node identifier may be used bycontent management server 2060 to locate the documents on the contentmanagement server 2060 that have that node identifier (e.g., areversions of the same original content).

As such, the content management server 2060 may be able to locatedocuments corresponding to documents on the content management serverdatabase even in instances where such documents have moved location atthe content management server 2060. Such documents may have been movedfor a variety of reasons, including reorganization, folder cleanups,company directives, etc. As a node identifier is passed in the requestfrom the sync agent 2040 and used by content management server 2060 tolocate the versions of the document at the content management server,these documents may be located even in cases where versions of thedocument have changed location (e.g., file paths, directories, etc.),since being originally downloaded to cache 2052 or reside in differentlocations, etc.

From those located documents, the most recent version may be determinedusing the timestamp (e.g., which may be derived from the e-tagassociated with that document or otherwise determined) associated withthose documents. The e-tag of the most recent version of the contentstored on content management server 2060 can then be compared to thee-tag of the document as received in the request to determine if theyare the same. Based on the comparison a response may be sent to syncagent 2040 indicating that document in cache 2052 is, or is not, themost recent version of the content (e.g., if the e-tags are the same theresponse may indicate that the document in cache 2052 is the most recentversion). Other methods of comparing the documents may also be utilized,for example, the size of the file may be determined from the e-tagreceived in the request from the sync agent 2040 and used to compare tothe size of the most recent version of the document on contentmanagement server 2060. Other comparisons may also be utilized.

If the response indicates that the document in cache 2052 is the mostrecent version, editing of the document in cache 2052 opening of thedocument may proceed. If, however, the response indicates that therequested document in cache 2052 is not the most recent version, thesync agent 2040 may form a request to download the most recent versionof the document. This request may have the e-tag associated with theversion of the requested document in cache 2052, or the e-tag of themost recent version as may be provided by the content management server2060 in the response indicating that the version of the requesteddocument in cache 2052 was not the most recent version. Contentmanagement server 2060 may receive such a request and reply with themost recent version of the document (e.g., the binary content of thedocument) and the associated e-tag. The sync agent 2040 may then updatethe cache 2052 with the received version of the document and update anyassociated data (e.g., the e-tag associated with the document in thecache 2052). It will be noted that the requests to check the version ofthe document in cache 2052 may also serve as a download request incertain embodiments, such that one request may serve to check theversion of the document in cache 2052 and if it is not the most recentversion, content management server 2060 may reply with an indicationthat it is not the most recent version, along with the most recentversion of the document and the associated e-tag.

In certain embodiments, sync agent 2040 may convert inter-document linkswithin the document at the time the document is received, as will bediscussed in more detail at a later point. Specifically, documents suchas Word or Excel documents may include links to other documents. Suchlinks can be global links pointing to the location of the includeddocument in the content management server 2060. For example, each linkmay be in the form of a URL of the included document.

When sync agent 2040 receives document that includes such links, syncagent 2040 can then rewrite the links for included documents that existin the received document to be stored in cache 2052 such that theselinks reference the location of the corresponding document as stored incache 2052 (instead of referencing the same document at contentmanagement server 2060). This conversion process may be done using amapping which correlates, or otherwise allows sync agent 2040 todetermine, a location in cache 2052 from a location (e.g., URL) oncontent management server 2060. Such a mapping may be bi-directionalsuch that the link conversion from local links in cache 2052 to links oncontent management server 2060 at the time a document is saved tocontent management server 2060.

Thus, when a user is interacting with the requested document and clickson a document link contained within that document, the link to theincluded document in the cache 2052 is activated and the referenceddocument is accessed from cache 2052. Specifically, in some embodiments,the included documents may not be downloaded before a link referencingthat document is clicked on (as such included documents may neveractually be accessed by a user). In such cases, access to such a linkmay cause a request to be sent from editor 2025 to file system 2045.Cache filter driver 2030 can intercept such a request and the documentcan be downloaded as discussed herein.

Alternatively, sync agent 2040 may request (or be prompted to request)downloads of all those included documents from content management server2060 at the time the requested document is originally received. Such anembodiment may be useful in cases where the content of includeddocuments is actually visible in the requested document. For example, anExcel sheet may have links pointing to other Excel documents and Excelmay automatically request such included documents.

In some embodiments, if the requested document is to be opened forediting, before the document is opened sync agent 2040 may reserve (orlock) the document with content management server 2060. Such areservation request may include an identifier for the requested document(e.g., e-tag) and any needed user identification or credentials. Thecontent management server 2060 may attempt to reserve the requesteddocument at the content management server 2060 (e.g., such that no otheruser may edit that document while the user is editing the document athis client device). The reservation process may include checking theuser's credentials to verify the user has edit permissions or the like.If the document can be reserved, the content management server 2060 maymark the document as reserved in the database of the content managementserver 2060 and return a response to sync agent 2040 indicating thedocument has been reserved. Once the file is reserved, the reservationmay be maintained by the content management server 2060 until it isreleased (or the expiration of a time period, etc.).

It will be noted that such checking of the version of the document maybe done in response to a reservation request such that a single requestmay attempt to reserve the document requested by the user and inresponse to the reservation request, the content management server 2060may check to make sure the document in local cache 2052 is the latestversion. In such cases, a response may indicate that the document is notthe latest version or that the reservation has completed successfully orsome other indicator of status. It will be noted that such a reservationrequest may only be needed in cases where the user has opened thedocument for editing, if the user only desires to open the document in aread-only mode there may be no need to perform such a reservation.

Once it is determined that most recent version of the document ispresent in cache 2052 (e.g., either a confirmation that the requesteddocument in cache 2052 is the latest version or the latest version isreceived from content management server 2060 and stored in cache 2052,that the document has been reserved, etc.), the document may be opened.For example, if the user attempted to edit the document using the webbased interface provided by, for example, web edit module 2090, orattempted to edit the document through the UI 2041 provided by the syncagent 2040, the sync agent 2040 may open an appropriate editor 2025 (ifit is not already open) and, using an API or the like provided by theeditor 2025, direct the editor to open the document at the location inthe cache 2052. Alternatively, if the user attempted to edit thedocument by using the editor 2025, sync agent 2040 may notify the cachefilter driver 2030 that the document is now available. Cache filterdriver 2030 may then allow the originally received open request fromeditor 2025 to proceed to file system 2045 to open the document in thecache 2052 or may open the document in cache 2052 and return thedocument to the editor 2025. In other words, the cache filter driver2030 blocks editor 2025 until the requested document (or latest versionthereof) is available in cache 2052. This blocking may occur, in someembodiments, at the disk I/O level. If a document cannot be reserved, itmay be set to a read-only mode. So the document is set to read-only modein the cache 2052 such that editor 2025 may only open the document in aread-only mode when the file system request from editor 2025 isperformed.

Accordingly, a user may interact with the requested document in editor2025, where the requested document resides in cache 2052. If thedocument cannot be reserved as discussed above, a variety of actions maybe taken, for example, the user may be allowed to view the version ofthe document in cache 2052 in read only mode.

During editing, when the user (or the editor 2025) makes a save request,the save request is intercepted by cache filter driver 2030 disposedbetween editor 2025 and file system 2045. The cache filter driver 2030then makes a save request to the sync agent 2040. Sync agent 2040 maythen send the save request to the content management server 2060, wherethe save request includes the document (or the changes thereto as can bedetermined from the save request intercepted by cache filter driver2030) and the e-tag of the document being saved. At this point, ifdocument links in the document have been modified (e.g., to locallinks), sync agent 2040 may rewrite the local links to global linksbefore uploading it to content management server 2060.

Content management server 2060 may receive this save request and use thee-tag to verify that save is occurring over the correct version of thedocument. In other words, e-tag may be used to once again verify theuser on the client device was working with the most recent version ofthe document before a new version of the document is created. If thereceived e-tag matches the e-tag of the most recent version of thecontent maintained by content management server 2060, a new version ofthe content (i.e., a new document) will be created at content managementserver 2060 and a corresponding new e-tag will also be created. This newe-tag will be returned to the sync agent 2040 in a response and storedin association with the document in cache 2052, thus serving tosynchronize the same version of the same document maintained at contentmanagement server 2060 and in cache 2052 at the user's client device.

If the e-tag received in the save request at content management server2060 does not match the e-tag for the latest version of the document atthe content management server 2060 (e.g., if an error occurred and a newversion was saved over the version the user is working with from cache2052, etc.), the save request may be denied as a conflict may be createdor versions inadvertently overwritten. In such cases, an errorindication may be returned to sync agent 2040. The user can then bepresented with a variety of options through UI 2041, such as saving anew version of the document or manually reconciling changes, etc.

At any point, if a user closes editor 2025 (or the document beingedited), an unreserve request may be sent to content management server2060. Specifically, editor 2025 may notify sync agent 2040 through anAPI or the like that the document has been closed. Sync agent 2040 maydetermine the document has been reserved and send an unreserve requestto content management server 2060 with the e-tag of the document.Content management server 2060 may take the reservation mark off thedocument at content management server 2060 such that others may edit thedocument.

In this manner, improved editing of a managed document by a user may beaccomplished by allowing a user to access and edit the document in alocal cache while keeping the document synchronized in a contentmanagement system. The synchronization can occur asynchronously,improving the speed and performance of the editing process. A number ofother advantages may also be obtained, for example If sync agent 2040does not have network connectivity a warning saying the user is notonline may be presented through UI 2041. In such cases, if the documentexists in cache 2052, the user may be allowed to read or edit thedocument and changes synchronized with content management server 2060 ata later point when connectivity can be established. Similarly if a useris in the middle of an editing session and the network connection failsor goes down, the document will be saved into cache 2052 such thatchanges will not be lost.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting a process for locally editing a filefrom a content management server. At step 3010, an area in local cacheis configured for the content management server. At step 3012, thecontent management server access and authentication parameters areconfigured. At this point, files from the content server can bedownloaded to the local cache in response to a request from a user. Forexample, if a user wants to edit a particular file, the user can click alink to the file on a content management server web interface toinitiate the process. At step 3014, the selected file is downloaded tothe local cache. Note that, if an up-to-date version of the file isalready stored in the local cache, it does not need to be downloadedagain. Next, a client editing application is launched (step 3016). Theediting application can be any desired application, for example,Microsoft Word for editing a word processing file. At step 3018, thefile is opened in the application for editing. Note that the file storedin cache is opened by the editing application, so from the user'sperspective, editing the file works the same as editing any local file.At step 3020, the file is saved to the local cache. The saved file isthen synchronized between the local cache and the content managementserver (step 3022). In this example, the saved file is uploaded to thecontent server, since the edited file is the most recent version of thefile. Note that the system will prevent a second user from saving thefile on the content management server while the first user is editingthe file.

FIGS. 4-8 are state diagrams illustrating several use cases of thecontent management system described above. The state diagrams illustratevarious operations and the handlers that execute each operation.

FIG. 4 is a state diagram illustrating when a user browses and initiatesan editing operation. In one hypothetical example, a user is navigatingthrough the content management server using one of its browsinginterfaces (4010). The user then selects the ‘Edit’ function (4012) fora Microsoft Office document (e.g., assume a Word document), and thedocument is opened for editing in the appropriate local application(4014). The system ensures that the document cache is prepopulated withthe document, and then transitions to the next use case (describedbelow). FIG. 4 also shows various interim operations, such asdetermining whether ActiveX is installed (4016), installing ActiveX ifit is not (4018), installing sync agent and file system drivers, ifneeded (4020), determining if the sync agent is connected (4022),connecting the sync agent, if needed (4024), etc.

FIG. 5 is a state diagram illustrating when the document is opened inthe editing application. The document cache will not always beprepopulated when the editing application opens a document. The usercould choose a document from a file MRU list, a desktop shortcut, forexample. If the document hasn't been opened for a long time, it is verylikely that the version that the application tries to open up will notbe the latest one, so the sync agent may need to download the documentfirst.

As shown in FIG. 5, after the application is launched (5010) and theapplication attempts to open the file (5012), the file system filterdriver intercepts the file open call (5014). This is to ensure that themost recent version of the file is opened. If the file stored in cacheis not the latest (or doesn't exist), the file will be downloaded fromthe content server. The request recognizer checks the cache and marks adownload request, if needed (5016). If a download is needed, the requestscheduler schedules the request (5018), and the spooler starts thedownload (5020). In addition to fetching the file from the server, anyinter-document links will be re-written (described below). Once the filehas been downloaded (5022), the application can open the file from cache(5024).

Once the document is open in the application, an attempt will be made toreserve or lock it in content server. FIG. 6 is a state diagramillustrating when the application opens the document. In some cases(e.g., if the file was opened for some reason other than editing, theprocess ends (6010). Otherwise, the request recognizer will mark areservation request as pending (6012). The system will determine whetherthe document can be reserved or locked, and if so, reserve or lock thedocument (6014). If there is no editing permission, the file can't bereserved or locked, or the content management server doesn't have thelatest version, the reservation will be marked as failed (6016), and awarning will be provided to the user (6018). In this case, the documentcan still be edited, but not reserved or locked. If the document can bereserved or locked, the document will be reserved (locked) (6020), andthe reservation will be marked as done (6016).

The user may save the document one or more times during the editingsession. FIG. 7 is a state diagram illustrating when the document issaved. First, the document is saved to cache (7010) by the cache filterdriver (7010) and to disk by the Windows FS driver (7012). The requestrecognizer determines if an update (i.e., if the content sever fileshould be overwritten with the edited file) is needed (7014). If anupdate is needed, a request is created (7016) and scheduled (7018). Atthe content server, the update request is executed, and the contentserver is updated (7020). Whether the request is successful (7022) orfails (7024), the request recognizer will invoke a tray notice (7026),informing the user of the status of the update. In the case of afailure, the update may be retried, depending on the reason for failure.Examples of reasons for a failure include a document reservation byanother user, a document not in sync, insufficient permissions, etc.

When the application is closed, any reservations on the document will bereleased in the content management server. FIG. 8 is a state diagramillustrating when the document is saved. When a file is closed (8010),the FS driver will intercept the close call (8012). Eventually, thecontent management server module will unreserve or unlock the document(8014), assuming that it was reserved (locked). The recognizer will thenmark the unreserve or unlock as done or failed (8016), and the user willbe warned in the event of a failure (8018).

As mentioned above, the system supports the preservation ofinter-document linking (e.g., desktop application inter-documentlinking) as documents are downloaded to the local cache and uploaded toa content management server. Some documents may include inter-documentlinks, which may include links to other documents. On the contentserver, global inter-document links may include a URL relating to thestorage location on the content management server. Normally, when adocument containing a global inter-document link is downloaded, the linkwill not work if the editing program does not have access to the linkaddress. When a user is editing on a file from cache (as describedabove), the system can also download linked files. However, the globalinter-document links will not work, since the link addresses relate tothe content management server addresses, not client device file systemlocations.

FIG. 9 is block diagram illustrating non-limiting embodiments of asystem that converts global inter-document links to local inter-documentlinks, and vice versa. FIG. 9 shows a content management server 9010 andclient device 9030. A document file 9060 having one or more globalinter-document links 9070 is stored in the content server storage 9020.As described above, the inter-document links 9070 are globalinter-document links, meaning that they use addresses relating tolocations in the content server storage 9020 (in one example, theaddresses include a URL). A document file 9080 having one or more globalinter-document links 9090 is stored in the client local cache 9050. Asdescribed above, the inter-document links 9090 are local inter-documentlinks, meaning that they use addresses relating to locations in thelocal cache 9050 (in one example, the addresses include a drive letterand folder(s)).

While editing a cached file locally, the global inter-document links maynot work, since the addresses in the links are inaccessible. FIG. 9 alsoshows a link conversion block 9100. When a file having globalinter-document links is downloaded from the content management server,the global inter-document links are converted into local inter-documentlinks. If needed, linked documents can also be downloaded to cache. Whena file having local inter-document links is uploaded to the contentserver, the local inter-document links are converted back into globalinter-document links.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart depicting non-limiting embodiments of a processfor maintaining inter-document links during uploads and downloads. Atstep 1010, a file is downloaded from a content management server tolocal cache. If the downloaded file contains global inter-documentlinks, the links are converted to local inter-document links (step1012). For example, if an inter-document link contains a URL address ofa document, the inter-document link is converted to use a local address,such as an address including a drive letter, folder name(s), filename(s), etc. If desired, the linked document can also be downloaded(automatically or manually) so the links will work on the local client.The file, with converted links, is stored in cache (step 1014). At step1016, the file is opened, edited, saved, etc., as desired. Prior tobeing uploaded to the content server, the local inter-document links areconverted to global inter-document links (step 1018). For example, if alocal inter-document link contains a drive letter and folder name(s),the inter-document link is converted to use a global address, such as aURL. After conversion, the file is uploaded to the content server (step1020).

As mentioned above, in some examples, a user can select files forediting using a content server browser interface. The content serverbrowser interface includes links that allow a user to initiate the localediting of files by clicking on a single link. For example, when a userclicks on a file ‘edit’ link, the file is automatically reserved orlocked (if allowed) and downloaded (if not already downloaded), andopens in a designated application on a client device. When the usersaves and/or closes the file, the file is automatically released andsynchronized with the content server.

FIG. 11 is a screenshot 1100 depicting an example of a content serverbrowser interface, including a listing of documents with edit links. Asshown, a user is presented with a listing of files 1110 available on thecontent server. In FIG. 11, a file 1112 has been selected by a user. Inthis example, three menu items 1114 are enabled for the selected file,including ‘Edit’, ‘Open’, and ‘Download’. With a single click of therespective menu item 1114, the user can initiate editing of the selectedfile, opening of the selected file, or downloading of the selected file.Once a user initiates editing of the file by clicking on the ‘Edit’ menuitem, a process for locally editing a file from a content server,similar to that described above with respect to FIG. 3, is started.

FIG. 12 is a screenshot 1200 depicting an example of a manage documentsview in a window, including a listing of documents with differentfolders as the network's file location 1205 is a folder 1210, similar tothat described above with respect to FIG. 3 is started. As shown, a useris presented with a listing of documents or files 1215 available on thecache. The manage documents view has a grid that lists all the documentsor files 1215 in the cache: their name, their status. For example, theuser can see synced or completed status. It shows the user exactly whatstage the user is in. For example, clicking a synchronize button 1220which will obtain the new version from the content server that the usernever had. It will override the changes that user made locally.

FIG. 13 is a screenshot 1300 depicting an example of conflict managementwhen there is a conflict between the content server and the local cacheversion of a document or a file 1305. For example, there may be aconflict between a server version 1310 and a local version 1315 of thedocument “Estimating and Planning—Copy.pptx.” To resolve this conflict,a user may be presented with an option as represented by an “Add NewServer Version” button 1320 and a “Discard Local Version” button 1325.

A conflict may appear when a user may attempt to edit a document thatsomebody else has reserved, but because it's reserved, the user won't beable to update it. Such an attempt would result in a conflict, and thereare many scenarios, of course, for situations like this. Another case isa first user might be offline, and the first user might edit a document.A second user might go into the content server, unreserve it, edit it,and it would be updated. Then when the first user connects, the firstuser connected to the Internet will be detected. It will communicatewith the content server, and it will indicate the first user thatthere's a conflict. So then, the first user could decide if the firstuser is going to overwrite the second user's work. As in an enterprisewhere there are many employees who have access to the same files, thecontent server with the provision of the “Add New Server Version” button1420 and the “Discard Local Version” button 1425 ensures a userinadvertently won't overwrite colleagues' work.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart depicting one embodiment of a process forenabling a user to select and edit a file from a content managementserver. Steps of such a process may be accomplished in certainembodiments as described above. At step 1410, a content server browserinterface is configured. The block diagram shown in FIG. 2 provides oneexample of a browser interface as a component in an editing system.Other configurations are also possible as shown in FIGS. 12-14. FIG. 11shows one exemplary screenshot of a browser interface. At step 1412, auser selects a file to be edited by clicking the appropriate hyperlink.In the example screenshot of FIG. 11, if a user wants to edit theselected file 1112, the user simply clicks the ‘Edit’ link, shown withmenu items 1114. As described in detail above, the system downloads theselected file to local cache (step 1414). It is possible that theselected file is already loaded in cache from a previous download. Oncethe file is downloaded into cache, or it is confirmed that the file isalready in cache, the editing application is launched (step 1416). Thesystem can be configured to select the editing application based on anydesired rules. For example, the application may be registered in the OSto be the default application for opening a file with a given fileextension (e.g., Microsoft Word for a *.docx file, etc.). In otherexamples, one or more rules may be used to select a desired applicationbased on any number of parameters.

Once the application has launched, the file is opened for editing (step1418). At step 1420, the file is saved to the local cache. The savedfile is then synchronized between the local cache and the content server(step 1422). In this example, the saved file is uploaded to the contentserver, since the edited file is the most recent version of the file.Note that the system will prevent a second user from saving the file onthe content server while the first user is editing the file.

Although the invention has been described with respect to specificembodiments thereof, these embodiments are merely illustrative, and notrestrictive of the invention. The description herein of illustratedembodiments of the invention, including the description in the Abstractand Summary, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the inventionto the precise forms disclosed herein (and in particular, the inclusionof any particular embodiment, feature or function within the Abstract orSummary is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to suchembodiment, feature or function). Rather, the description is intended todescribe illustrative embodiments, features and functions in order toprovide a person of ordinary skill in the art context to understand theinvention without limiting the invention to any particularly describedembodiment, feature or function, including any such embodiment featureor function described in the Abstract or Summary.

While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes only, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate. Asindicated, these modifications may be made to the invention in light ofthe foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the inventionand are to be included within the spirit and scope of the invention.Thus, while the invention has been described herein with reference toparticular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, variouschanges and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, andit will be appreciated that in some instances some features ofembodiments of the invention will be employed without a correspondinguse of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made toadapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope andspirit of the invention.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “anembodiment”, or “a specific embodiment” or similar terminology meansthat a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described inconnection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentand may not necessarily be present in all embodiments. Thus, respectiveappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or“in a specific embodiment” or similar terminology in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the sameembodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, orcharacteristics of any particular embodiment may be combined in anysuitable manner with one or more other embodiments. It is to beunderstood that other variations and modifications of the embodimentsdescribed and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachingsherein and are to be considered as part of the spirit and scope of theinvention.

In the description herein, numerous specific details are provided, suchas examples of components and/or methods, to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in therelevant art will recognize, however, that an embodiment may be able tobe practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with otherapparatus, systems, assemblies, methods, components, materials, parts,and/or the like. In other instances, well-known structures, components,systems, materials, or operations are not specifically shown ordescribed in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of theinvention. While the invention may be illustrated by using a particularembodiment, this is not and does not limit the invention to anyparticular embodiment and a person of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that additional embodiments are readily understandable and area part of this invention.

Embodiments discussed herein can be implemented in computerscommunicatively coupled to a network (for example, the Internet),another computer, or in a standalone computer. As is known to thoseskilled in the art, a suitable computer can include a central processingunit (“CPU”), at least one read-only memory (“ROM”), at least one randomaccess memory (“RAM”), at least one hard drive (“HD”), and one or moreinput/output (“I/O”) device(s). The I/O devices can include a keyboard,monitor, printer, electronic pointing device (for example, mouse,trackball, stylus, touch pad, etc.), or the like.

ROM, RAM, and HD are computer memories for storing computer-executableinstructions executable by the CPU or capable of being compiled orinterpreted to be executable by the CPU. Suitable computer-executableinstructions may reside on a computer readable medium (e.g., ROM, RAM,and/or HD), hardware circuitry or the like, or any combination thereof.Within this disclosure, the term “computer readable medium” is notlimited to ROM, RAM, and HD and can include any type of data storagemedium that can be read by a processor. For example, a computer-readablemedium may refer to a data cartridge, a data backup magnetic tape, afloppy diskette, a flash memory drive, an optical data storage drive, aCD-ROM, ROM, RAM, HD, or the like. The processes described herein may beimplemented in suitable computer-executable instructions that may resideon a computer readable medium (for example, a disk, CD-ROM, a memory,etc.). Alternatively, the computer-executable instructions may be storedas software code components on a direct access storage device array,magnetic tape, floppy diskette, optical storage device, or otherappropriate computer-readable medium or storage device.

Any suitable programming language can be used to implement the routines,methods or programs of embodiments of the invention described herein,including C, C++, Java, JavaScript, HTML, or any other programming orscripting code, etc. Other software/hardware/network architectures maybe used. For example, the functions of the disclosed embodiments may beimplemented on one computer or shared/distributed among two or morecomputers in or across a network. Communications between computersimplementing embodiments can be accomplished using any electronic,optical, radio frequency signals, or other suitable methods and tools ofcommunication in compliance with known network protocols.

Different programming techniques can be employed such as procedural orobject oriented. Any particular routine can execute on a single computerprocessing device or multiple computer processing devices, a singlecomputer processor or multiple computer processors. Data may be storedin a single storage medium or distributed through multiple storagemediums, and may reside in a single database or multiple databases (orother data storage techniques). Although the steps, operations, orcomputations may be presented in a specific order, this order may bechanged in different embodiments. In some embodiments, to the extentmultiple steps are shown as sequential in this specification, somecombination of such steps in alternative embodiments may be performed atthe same time. The sequence of operations described herein can beinterrupted, suspended, or otherwise controlled by another process, suchas an operating system, kernel, etc. The routines can operate in anoperating system environment or as stand-alone routines. Functions,routines, methods, steps and operations described herein can beperformed in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof.

Embodiments described herein can be implemented in the form of controllogic in software or hardware or a combination of both. The controllogic may be stored in an information storage medium, such as acomputer-readable medium, as a plurality of instructions adapted todirect an information processing device to perform a set of stepsdisclosed in the various embodiments. Based on the disclosure andteachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the invention.

It is also within the spirit and scope of the invention to implement insoftware programming or code an of the steps, operations, methods,routines or portions thereof described herein, where such softwareprogramming or code can be stored in a computer-readable medium and canbe operated on to permit a computer to perform any of the steps,operations, methods, routines or portions thereof described herein. Theinvention may be implemented by using software programming or code byusing application specific integrated circuits, programmable logicdevices, field programmable gate arrays, optical, chemical, biological,quantum or nanoengineered systems, components and mechanisms may beused. In general, the functions of the invention can be achieved by anymeans as is known in the art. For example, distributed, or networkedsystems, components and circuits can be used. In another example,communication or transfer (or otherwise moving from one place toanother) of data may be wired, wireless, or by any other means.

A “computer-readable medium” may be any medium that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, system ordevice. The computer readable medium can be, by way of example only butnot by limitation, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, system, device,propagation medium, or computer memory. Such computer-readable mediumshall generally be machine readable and include software programming orcode that can be source code or object code. Examples of non-transitorycomputer-readable media can include random access memories, read-onlymemories, hard drives, data cartridges, magnetic tapes, floppydiskettes, flash memory drives, optical data storage devices,compact-disc read-only memories, and other appropriate computer memoriesand data storage devices. In an illustrative embodiment, some or all ofthe software components may reside on a combination of separate servercomputers. As one skilled in the art can appreciate, a computer programproduct implementing an embodiment disclosed herein may comprise one ormore non-transitory computer readable media storing computerinstructions translatable by processors in a computing environment.

A “processor” includes hardware system, mechanism or component thatprocesses data, signals or other information. Processing need not belimited to a geographic location, or have temporal limitations. Forexample, a processor can perform its functions in “real-time,”“offline,” in a “batch mode,” etc. Portions of processing can beperformed at different times and at different locations, by different(or the same) processing systems.

It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted inthe drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more separated orintegrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certaincases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application.Additionally, any signal arrows in the drawings/figures should beconsidered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwisespecifically noted.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having,” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,product, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited only those elements but may include other elementsnot expressly listed or inherent to such process, product, article, orapparatus.

Furthermore, the term “or” as used herein is generally intended to mean“and/or” unless otherwise indicated. For example, a condition A or B issatisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B isfalse (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (orpresent), and both A and B are true (or present). As used herein,including the claims that follow, a term preceded by “a” or “an” (and“the” when antecedent basis is “a” or “an”) includes both singular andplural of such term, unless clearly indicated within the claim otherwise(i.e., that the reference “a” or “an” clearly indicates only thesingular or only the plural). Also, as used in the description hereinand throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in”and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The scope of thepresent disclosure should be determined by the following claims andtheir legal equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for editing files stored on a remotecontent server comprising: a sync agent on a client computing devicehaving a file system and a local cache, the sync agent configured tosend a request to a content server for a content stored at the contentserver, receive the content in response to the request, and store thecontent in the local cache associated with the content server; a cachefilter disposed between an application on the client computing deviceand the file system of the client computing device, the cache filterconfigured to intercept one or more requests from the application tomake a change to the content in the local cache, the cache filterconfigured to inform the sync agent of the change request such that thesync agent makes the change request to the content server to make thechange to the content on the content server and the cache filter passesthe change request to the file system so that the change can be made onthe content in the local cache.